


The Scent of Blood

by animenutcase



Category: Lux-Pain
Genre: Gen, Spoilers, community: 30_flowers, descriptions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-27
Updated: 2014-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-10 13:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2026593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animenutcase/pseuds/animenutcase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tanaka didn't understand why the town was so on edge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Scent of Blood

When Tanaka was a child, there had been a tamarisk (or maybe it was tamarix?) plant by his family's house. He remembered that his father had brought it back from a trip overseas. He often heard the neighbors comment on it, since it wasn't very common in the area. In fact, perhaps there was a reason it wasn't common, since it was dead within a year, the victim of improper care.

His mother had sighed when it was finally dead and went to work pulling it out. They should have taken better care of it, she'd said. There was just something gloomy about something slowly dying by their house.

Tanaka had privately disagreed. It was almost fascinating to see how slowly the plant had died. Seeing it wither away was one of the few things that truly grabbed his attention as a child.

This was not the only reason Tanaka began killing women shortly after he joined the Kisaragi Police Department, but it was definitely one that shaped him into the person he became.

Seeing the life slowly drain out of someone's eyes was thrilling. He often wished he could drag out their suffering for longer, but even if he managed to get them back to his small apartment without being seen, there was nowhere he could store them without arousing suspicion, and the thought of actually torturing someone kind of grossed him out. He much preferred stabbing them in a vital spot and watching as they slowly bled out.

Still, even that carried risks. He killed one woman near South End, but he was almost certain that he'd been spotted by the owner. When he went to speak with her, however, she didn't seem to have a clue what he was talking about, and there were no reports suggesting that she'd spoken to any officers besides him. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized he was safe. The owner was such a sweet lady. It would be a shame for Kisaragi to lose her.

For reasons Tanaka couldn't understand, everyone always talked about the fact that he'd been targeting women. It wasn't like he'd been going after women because he _hated_ them. His admiration for Yui and Mako was genuine. Still, maybe it would be better if he started going after men as well. After all, Tanaka didn't want anyone to think he was a sexist.

It was on one particular evening, however, that he spotted her. A high school girl with short, blue hair. She was standing around like she was waiting for someone. It had been a very stupid mistake to make, but Tanaka moved to sneak up behind her and grabbed her. He tried to drag her to an empty alley, but he'd been tackled out of nowhere. 

The guy started yelling, demanding to know what the hell he was doing. Tanaka ignored what he was saying and simply ran off while his intended victim started asking about the boy's well-being. It wasn't until the next day that he learned that the girl's name was Nozaki Mika, and the boy's name was Mido Akira. Tanaka wasn't interested in Mido, but Mika... He didn't understand, but there was something about her that really made Tanaka want to kill her.

He decided to wait before he made another attempt. The police had their guard up since Mika was the only person who'd survived an encounter with the serial killer.

Unfortunately, as a year passed it got harder to hold back. Eventually, he went after a girl that attended Mika's school. The girl was mousy-looking with orange hair and glasses. She didn't look a thing like Mika. 

Once again, however, his target had managed to get away. This was getting to be a hassle. Was his heart not in it because the girl he wanted to kill was still alive? 

Tanaka let out a sigh as he decided to search out Mika. He found her in front of SEAGULL. Ah, that's right. She wanted to be a reporter, didn't she? It was a shame that she wouldn't be able to do so, but that was life, he supposed.

It was dark, so Tanaka didn't realize that Mako was there. By the time he'd noticed her, it was too late, and the knife that had been meant for Mika was lodged in Mako's chest.

She'd seen his face. The way her eyes widened with shock and betrayal was proof of that. Without thinking, Tanaka gave the knife a twist as he pulled it out. She gave a painful grimace as she collapsed to the ground. 

Fortunately, because Mika was distracted by Mako, Tanaka was able to slip away without her seeing him.

He ran until he was near the park. He had been sure that he'd stabbed Mako in a vital place, so she was almost certainly going to die. That wasn't what was on his mind. It was the look on Mako's face when she recognized him. He'd seen some incredible expressions on his victims, but Mako's was probably the best. The shock and anguish was beautiful.

As he made his way home, there was a slight bounce in his step. He glanced at the flowers in the park. They were lovely and they smelled quite nice as well, but he couldn't help but think that staining them with blood would make them even prettier.

**Author's Note:**

> Tamarisk according to the language of flowers: Crime (Source: http://languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm)


End file.
